The Starbucks was closing. The staff was busily stacking chairs and mopping the floor, listening to the music of local rocker Ty Segall. Meanwhile, Mark Takano sat at a corner table with a small coffee, reflecting on his recent election to the House of Representatives, which made him the first openly gay non-white member of Congress as well as the first out congressman from California.
“I do think this is a new day in American politics, and I can’t help but point out, as the first openly gay member of Congress from California, the interesting thing is I’m coming from Riverside County,” Takano, a Democrat, said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter Sunday, February 17.
“If Riverside can be on the right side of history, there is hope our nation can be, too,” he added, referring to the southern California region he represents that has historically been very conservative.
He paused. “That’s a great line,” he said with a laugh.
I covered San Francisco news and politics for the Bay Area Reporter from the end of 2011 to 2013. Read the full article here.
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